Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Denny Island, Bristol Channel

Denny Island is a small rocky island in the middle of the
Bristol Channel, three miles north of Portishead and halfway between Avonmouth
and Redwick near Newport. It lies at the
southern end of the Bedwin Sands. These
are part of a huge complex of sandbanks collectively known as the Welsh Grounds, which are exposed at low
tide. The boundary between England and Wales runs along the southern foreshore
of the island, which is located in Monmouthshire for administrative purposes.

In 1373 Edward III granted a charter to Bristol, which made
it a county of its own separate from Somerset or Gloucestershire.Denny Island is referred to in the charter as
Dunye.This may mean that the name meant “island
shaped like a hill” in Old English.

Denny Island has an area of 0.24 hectares and is covered in
scrub vegetation. It becomes much larger at low tide, due to the Bristol
Channel having the second highest tidal range in the world. Strong tidal currents and the danger of
quicksand on a rising tide make the island almost impossible to land on. Therefore it is extremely unlikely that I will ever set foot on it.

The island provides a roost for seabirds.Small colonies of cormorants and great black
backed gulls and a few pairs of rock pipits nest on the island.